KSC-99PP-0762 - M.S. Coleman sits inside the orbiter Columbia
STS-93 Catherine G. Coleman (Ph.D.) sits inside the orbiter Columbia
during Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities that
include emergency exit training and a launch-day dress rehearsal
culminating with a simulated main engine cut-off. Other crew members
participating are Commander Eileen M. Collins, Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby,
and Mission Specialists Steven A. Hawley (Ph.D.) and Michel Tognini of
France, who represents the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales
(CNES). Collins is the first woman to serve as a Shuttle
commander. The primary mission of STS-93 is the release of the Chandra
X-ray Observatory, which will allow scientists from around the world
to obtain unprecedented X-ray images of exotic environments in space
to help understand the structure and evolution of the universe. The
targeted launch date for STS-93 is no earlier than July 20 at 12:36
a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39B.
06/24/1999